As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world (John 17:18)
A young man who had just lived in a monastery wrote to his father how wonderful it was to be there. Every morning at 02:00 the monks will wake up and sing sacred songs.
His father, a wise and understanding man, wrote back by writing to his son, "Dear son: Your mother and I are so happy to know that you have found your calling. But always remember one thing: We, as well as many other parents like us, have had to wake up many times. every time at 02.00 in the morning to give milk, change diapers or our children's wet clothes, and in the process we have found our calling which is just as sacred."
Living to glorify God in this evil world is not just living righteously by being outside the world, but living righteously inwardly without having to leave the world. What matters is not where we live, but how we live. The essence of the Lord Jesus' prayer for his followers in John 17:1-26, if rephrased, is actually: "Let them remain in the world, but do not let them live like those who live in it."
But how can we survive to remain "in the world without being a part of it"? Only by always directing our hearts to the word of truth and obeying the word (John 17:17).
We have to live in the world, but we have to be on guard so that the world and its values don't live inside of us -- DJD
BE AWARE OF THE WORD SO THAT WE CAN BE AWAKENED FROM THE WORLD
* Take from Daily Reflections